Conflicts

Person vs. Self

In the book Mockingjay, one main conflict is person vs. self. This is conflict is person vs. self because Katniss is fighting against herself because she has to make so many big decisions about being the symbol of rebellion for all of the Districts that are against the Capitol. She also has to decide if she should kill Peeta when they were trying to raze the Capitol because he was not completely sure of himself and who he was. Sometimes he tried to kill people because of the damage the Capitol did to his mind and he was still not sure what was real or not real. In the end, she didn't end up killing Peeta because she loved him.

Person vs. Person

A main conflict in Mockingjay is person vs. person. Katniss, who is the protagonist in this story, wants to get revenge on President Snow, who is the antagonist, for all he has done. He invented the Hunger Games as an annual reminder that tells the Districts of Panem never to rebel and to remember that the Capitol has total control over all of the Districts. Katniss thinks that the Hunger Games are unjust because it involves picking innocent 12-to-18-year-olds to fight to the death in an arena. He also threatens to kill Katniss's friends and family if she ever took action to rebel again, or didn't marry Peeta in the Capitol (but she never even tried to rebel the first time!). In addition to that, he set up a wall of children in front of his house so Katniss would have to kill them to get inside, which she would never do. Prim, Katniss's sister, was helping the sick and wounded kids in that wall. In attempt to get access to Snow, Coin bombed his house so they could get in. Sadly, the bombs killed the wall of innocent Capitol children and Prim. This motivates Katniss even more to kill Snow.

Protagonists

The protaganists in books are the good characters who don't like evil. The main protaganist in this story would be Katniss Everdeen, the main character. Other people who are on her side would be Peeta, Prim, her mother, Haymich, her fellow soliders and people from all around Panem. Katniss is the protaganist because of her fervor to bring justice to Panem by getting rid of the Hunger Games for good. The other characters are on Katniss's side because they also belive that President Snow is unfair and a cruel person.

Antagonists

Antagonists in a book or movie are the opposite of a protagonist. Antagonists are the evil charachters in the book. Some examples in Mockingjay would be, President Snow, Peacekeepers, the Hunger Games themselves, and other people high up in the Capitol. These people and things are examples of antagonists because they do and belive in unfair and ruthless things that are only benificail to the Capitol and make the other Districts miserable. One example would be selling the victors bodies after they won the Hunger Games to meke money. (See Finnick's quote in slideshow on home page)

Climax

The climax in books is what the whole story leads up to. In Mockingjay, the whole point of Katniss becoming the Mockingjay is to bring down the Capitol and to kill Snow so justice can be served to the districts. The climax in the book takes place in the Capitol on the balcony of Snow's mansion. Katniss is about to kill Snow with an arrow to the heart. Yet, something stifles her and she decides to kill President Coin instead because of her talk eariler that day were Snow told her, "Oh my dear Miss Everdeen. I thought we had agreed not to lie to each other." (page 358) He told Katniss that he didn't send the bomb, and that Coin only sent the bomb to get into the Mansion. Coin made it look like it was Snow's bomb so Katniss would think Snow killed her sister, thus making Katniss want to kill Snow. Now that Katniss knows this and never really liked Coin anyway, she made the ground-breaking decision to spare Snow. However, Snow eithier chokes on his own bloody saliva or laughs himself to death anyway, so he's now dead too.

Outcome

Mockingjay's outcome is pretty much right after the climax, since it all happens so quickly. The outcome is that Snow and Coin are both dead, so Paylor is now the ruler of Panem. (Paylor was the commander of District 8, which was one of the first districts to rebel, besides 13). That was decided last-minute; right after Snow died and after Katniss killed Coin. Now, Panem has a new staff of government officials who are mostly people from 13. In conclusion, Prim is dead and Katniss's mother went to help start a hospital in District 8. Soon, Peeta and Katniss return to District 12, get married and have children. The good news is that the Hunger Games no longer exists and never will again.

Short Plot Summary

District 13, a state-of-the-art, rebellious, underground district that was thought to be demolished by the Capitol 75 years ago, wants Katniss (the main character) to be the Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion. But in the process to become the Mockingjay, she has to go through brutal training and make difficult decisions and sacrifices, some more heartbreaking than others. However, after careful thinking and planning, she finally decides to become the Mockingjay.